The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-12-01
How Met and Courted the Pres
ent Mrs. Grimes.

1t amt every man that has chance
% see the worst side of his wife's char
Rcter afore marriage, and the sweet
ness after. But bein' tinman, with
as good an outfit as travels New Eng
land road, bilers, pans, brooms, tea
kettles, an all sorts o. nick-nacks,
bein' included, get a pretty good back
view of what learned folks call society.
An it was along O. follerin' my trade
in this fashion that first saw the pres
ent Mrs. Grimes.
She was at the wash tub, an the
suds was flying for all they was with.
She looked pretty, too, though you
might not think it from the work she
was at, for she had red hair and the
water he'd made it curl around the
forehead, an the rubin he'd made
her cheeks rosy, an something I'll tell
of when l get to it he'd made her eyes
snap.
1t was one of those big houses in a
suburb she was doin' work at as third
girl, to help the old folks back on the
farm. She could a-gone into a mill to
work, but somehow she didn't take so
kindly to mill work. she told me after
wards, as she did to homework, even
If homework was more drudgin' and
eonfnin'.
The back yard to this house was a
green sort o place, with lots O. bushes
an trees afore you got in full sight o
the kitchen door, an when I'd got
where 1 was pretty near a good view O.
the premises, an afore l could get an
other sight O. the little woman at the
tub, / heard some body say, with lots
@ solid meanin' in the tones:
"-You do that again, an I'll do
some thing more than talk now
mindr'
1 stepped out in full view O mat
ters, an there a little mite o. rigged-up
babyhood was spillin' dirt into the
wash-tub
1t was an aggravatin' thing, an 1
know Jest how that little woman felt.
There she was a-working away for
dear iife-for it was late an l could
see there was still big pile O. clothes
nnwashed-an' that little wretch a.
grinniH' an THROWN in fists full O.
dirt l jest wondered what'ed happen.
As I kept comm nearer the house,
the young rascal ran out for another
handful, an with face at me skipped
back lively as cricket, anticipatin',
no doubt, the fun of more scoldin'.
But he missed his calculations. He
hadn't no more than put his inverted
body close to the tub than the little
woman he'd been a tormentin' Just
swooped down on him easy and swift
like, an without mite o. fuss or
waste of breath, landed him plump in
the suds-slippers, velvet, dirt an all!
While you could count, perhaps FIVE,
she held him there bleached-out little
sinner, too completely knocked out o
his reckonin' to even cry. Then she
set him, all drippin' like a drowned
rat, on the floor, an held him fast bv
the shoulders.
you've done that times enough"
she said, with a grain O. temper that 1
found it easy to forgive, "an' no one
has stopped You. Now I've taken you
an hand, an will see what'll come of it.
Go tell your mother, an tell her I'm
ready to give her an explanation. Now
you GO"
With howl that would have done
credit to a Fejee Islander. the soaked
torment started, an his self-constituted
discipliner went to rubin fast an
furious. as if she he'd still something to
work off
In spite O. her temper, should have
liked to give her hearty hand-shake,
but knew enough about suburb folks
an their relations to their third girls
to know such a proceedin' wouldn't be
prudent; it wouldn't help the third girl
a mite, so jest travelled back the way
had come, without a word about bill
ers or anything else. 1 felt pretty
sure the fewer spectators to the scene
that would follow. when that young
ster's mother came down stairs, the
better.
The. folks in the kitchen had seen me,
but knew ut least one of them would
be more comfortabler if / left, an
wouldn't lay up agin me any leavin'
out O manners. But made it in nv
WAY to call around there an see if they
had any rags or old paper they wanted
60 swap for tinware.
The third girl wasn't there. only the
second girl ironin' subdued-like nc
table. Shs said they didn't trade with
peddlers-they bought all their tin
things down to the store. Then
looked round careless, an asked where
the other girl was, but at that she
looked scared an said she didn't know,
she'd been discharged an no one knew
where she'd gone.
Twas mighty sorry at that. for I'd
admired that plucky dousin', in spite O.
she bit o temper. Well. l said good